Educational research is brimming with creative possibilities. Currently I am up working on completing my doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I am presently up to my eyeballs in dissertation research. I am conducting a qualitative study that explores how K-5 teachers with high teacher self-efficacy in arts integration use the arts to assess student learning across their curriculum. This stemmed from my work supporting a cohort of 12 arts integration- focused Cobb schools. After collecting historic district data on teacher self-efficacy, I realized that teachers have low confidence in assessing student learning when using arts integration. Being that most teachers fundamentally know that instruction and assessment are interrelated, I want to discover where the disconnect lies and capture the stories and experiences of teachers who are very confident in using art modalities to formatively assess in their classroom.
Below I have listed my research interests and also past research projects that I facilitated in the area of arts integration.
My Research Interests Lately:
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Using the Arts to Formatively Assess Student Learning
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Role Playing Strategies to Foster Reading Comprehension
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The Social Emotional Learning Impact when Elevating the "A" in S.T.E.A.M
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Using Art Modalities to Organize and Express Ideas in Student Writing
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Effective Virtual Coaching Methods for Teachers Engaging in Arts Integration
PAST RESEARCH PROJECTS
STEAM Integration
I was the project coach for the Arts in Education Model Development Dissemination (AEMDD) research grant. This was a 5-year federal grant serving Cherokee County and Clayton County schools. It included ongoing professional learning and the publication of piloted educational resources in the area of arts integration and STEAM. These elementary resources were then disseminated to a school in Sarasota County.
Early Literacy K-2
I was the instructional coach/ arts integration specialist for this 2 year Governors Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) grant by serving 4 Cobb County school district. Entitled KickStart, this grant was designed to provide robust professional learning for arts integration to develop early literacy skills.
Elementary Math & Innovation
I was the instructional coach/ arts integration specialist on the Governors Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) Math Innovation 1-year, state grant serving 3 Clayton County schools, The focus was on using the various art modalities to facilitate math curriculum for grades 30 5 classrooms.
For the AEMDD ArtsNOW Impact research grant, I led the ArtsNow Learning team and teachers at our three participating schools to develop and pilot STEAM Integration units for K-5 key ELA and science standards.
